Urgent help required please, Virgin SIM not being recognised in a new unlocked S10e

rousetafarian

Hi,

I bought from eBay a BNIB unlocked Samsung S10e mobile phone as a surprise birthday gift for my SO. Opened it today, put in her Virgin Sim from the old Samsung S6 to the new S10e and it reads the contacts ok, but only allows ‘Emergency Calls’.

The new phone has an AT&T splash screen on it, implying its a US import, should that matter?

Would calling Virgin help this sitauction and will she be able to keep her number?

Thanks all in advance

techquest

Do you know the actual model number of the S10e?

Probably SM-G970UZKAATT which is a AT&T version of the phone built for AT&T and  that is why it has the AT&T splash screen, which is blown into the firmware at build. To get rid of that you would need to probably root the phone and put in the UK firmware.

When you put the sim card in the phone how long did you leave it in? It might be that it takes 24hrs to register the service on the phone, with the card left in for the 24hrs.

But I'm not sure/convinced that it will work in the UK. Virgin would probably not help you as it is not provided by them and is not a UK spec phone.

Going to need to look at some stuff re this model before being 100% sure. How was the phone sold to you on eBay, did it mention it being a non UK spec?

rousetafarian

Hi,

Thanks for you response, the Virgin SIM has bedded in nicely full 4G and is now thankfully making and receiving calls.

techquest

That is what I thought might happen as it sometimes takes 24hrs so glad it's sorted.  Are you still getting the AT&T splash screen?

hippo99

Just out of interest, is that a Samsung/Android thing or is that a Network (Virgin) thing?

techquest

It's an any ISP thing, the service needs to recognise the sim in a new device and it can, as the ISP's quote to cover their rear ends, take anything up to 24hrs.